PhDRecent advances in the area of nanotechnology have led to interesting applications of
nanomaterials in medicine, especially in the areas of imaging and treatment. This thesis
presents the development of two molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) based on the
same fluorescent functional monomer. One MIP, prepared in the bulk format, is
investigated for its ability to detect tamoxifen and its metabolites. The other MIP
synthesised in the nanogel format, holds the potential to be used as pH-responsive drug
delivery system.
Four objectives were identified within this project. The first was the design and synthesis
of fluorescent functional monomer. Two coumarin derivatives carrying a polymerisable
unit, for covalent bonding within the polymer, and a carboxylic moiety, for interaction
site with the template, were synthesised and characterised. However, only one of them
(the VCC: 6-vynilcoumarin-4-carboxylic acid) showed high fluorescent yield and was
selected as functional monomer. The second objective involved the development of a
detection system based on bulk MIP containing the VCC fluorescent monomer. This
system proved effective in generating a detectable signal upon binding the analytes. The
signal was observed as a quenching of the polymer fluorescence and it was proportional
to the amount of target molecules detected. The third objective was the preparation of
tamoxifen-imprinted nanogels for potential application in the drug delivery field. The
optimisation of the procedure gave a set of NIP/MIP with the desired solubility, particle
size and fluorescence emission. These nanogels were then employed in the last objective,
which involved the toxicity study and evaluation of the drug loading on of transgenic line
of zebrafish. The nanogels were non-toxic at the tested concentrations and the presence
of tamoxifen was confirmed
